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President Lee Jae-myung shakes hands with Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae upon arriving at Seoul Air Base on November 26 after completing a 10-day trip to the Middle East and Africa. / Source: Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung returned to Seoul Air Base on the morning of November 26, concluding a seven-night, ten-day tour of four Middle Eastern and African nations tied to the G20 Summit.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae, Floor Leader Kim Byung-ki, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, and First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-joo greeted President Lee and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung upon their arrival, offering messages such as “You’ve worked hard” and “Welcome back.”

With a demanding schedule of summit diplomacy now behind him, President Lee is expected to keep a low profile for the rest of the day, reviewing the outcomes of his trip and beginning to shape his political strategy for the weeks ahead.

Key domestic challenges awaiting the president

A central task will be navigating negotiations with the opposition People Power Party, which is calling for large-scale spending cuts as the National Assembly faces the December 2 legal deadline to pass next year’s 728 trillion won budget.

Another major item is the Special Act on U.S.-Bound Investment, a legislative framework tied to the implementation of the recent U.S.–Korea tariff agreement. Follow-up administrative work related to the deal is also pending.

The administration is additionally weighing its timeline for relocating the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae before year’s end.

Meanwhile, the ruling Democratic Party plans to intensify discussions on establishing a special court division for insurrection cases immediately after Lee’s return, drawing attention to how the president will position himself on the issue.